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Day 7: A day of travel and the final game

The Hokies said goodbye to Montecatini Terme this morning after a very enjoyable stay in the smaller village. With it’s quaint squares and laid-back atmosphere, Montecatini was a nice resting spot between cities. Today’s blog collaborator, Vanessa Panousis said this about it:

“It was cute, a little village unlike Rome, which is a huge city. The food was great while we were there and it really just felt like it was a small community. The hotel was old and traditional, but beautiful and while I was sad to leave, I am excited to go on to the next adventure.”

After departing Montecatini around midday the Hokies traveled two hours to the town of Castel San Pietro Terme to face the Israeli National Team in the final game of the trip. The arena where the team played today was a bit nicer than the other two places and the Tech/Israel game was the first of three on the docket today (the Netherlands and Bulgaria were warming up as we left). Panousis said, “It was pretty neat as well as good experience to play an Olympic level team like Israel.”

The Hokies kept the game close through the first quarter, trailing the Israeli team 13-11 at the end of the opening 10-minutes. In the second quarter, Israel extended its lead back to 20-11, but a three pointer from Maddison Penn pulled the Hokies to within four (20-16) with 5:20 on the clock. Israel responded with a 12-3 run to close the half and take a 32-19 lead in to the break. In second half, the Israeli National Team kept its momentum going and secured the 70-40 win.

Penn and Samantha Hill led the Hokies with nine points each. Hannah Young and Taijah Campbell both pulled down eight rebounds.

Following the game, the Hokies traveled on to Padova. With all of the time on the bus today, the travel party was able to catch up on its sleep a little bit, especially following a couple of long days like the previous two.

Tech arrived in Padova, a nice little city that is not too far from Venice, in the evening and had a couple of hours to explore and find dinner before lights out for tomorrow’s excursion to Venice. “This is more city-like and isn’t as small as the last place,” said Panousis. “It’s a modern hotel and there is a lot of shopping in the area, so I will definitely be checking out some of the shops.”

Tomorrow the Hokies will make their way to Venice for a full day in the city. “I am really looking forward to tomorrow’s trip to Venice,” Panousis said. “I have done the boat ride before, but I am really excited about this trip to Venice with my teammates.”

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